Supplemental finger for guards of cutting apparatus.



No. 745,940. PATENTED DEC. 1, 1903.

W. WEBBER. v SUPPLEMENTAL FINGER FOR GUARDS OF'GUTTING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED OUT. 20, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

Patented December 1, 1903.

UN rED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM XVEBBER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO INTERNATIONALHARVESTER COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION NEW JERSEY.

SUPPLEMENTAL FINGER FOR GUARDS OF CUTTING APPARATUS.

EPEQZ'EICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 745,940, datedDecember 1, 1903. Application filed October 20,1902. Serial No. 127.991.(1T0 model.)

To all whom it nw/z concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM WEBBER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicage, in the county of Cool; and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Supplemental Fingers forthe Guards of Cutting Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it apperl ains to makeand use the same.

The object of the invention is to provide a supplemental finger that isattachable to the finger-bars of mowers and reapers having the usualguards when the machines are to be used in harvesting peas, beans, orany other crop where the tangled or matted condition of the vines orstalks'is liable to clog the action of the cutters.

The particular object of the invention is to make such fingers readilyattachable to or detachable from finger-bars havingdifferently-constructed guards, so that the fingers will beinterchangeable from one machine to another; and the invention consistsin the construction hereinafter illustrated and described whereby thefingers are adapted to fit over and be secured to the front ends ofguards of various shapes and sizes.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein-Figure 1 is a perspective View of a portion of a finger-bar lookingdiagonally forward from the rear, showing a couple of these supplementalfingers in position; and Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the finger-bar,showing one of the fingers in side elevation.

Referring to the views, a denotes an ordinary finger-bar; b, the guards;Z, the cutters, and c the clips by means of which the cutters are helddown in working contact with the guards. These parts may be of anydesired construction and arrangement, as the invention is adapted to allsorts of cutting apparatus that employ guards.

The supplemental finger is indicated at f. It is preferably constructedas illustrated in the drawings, where it will be seen that it extendsconsiderably in front of the guards and has an arched orupwardly-curving top partf and a rearward extension or tailpiece g. Italso has a vertical web '5 about midway of its length and ahorizontal'web m, which extends rearward from the vertical Web to thepoint where it is to be secured to the finger-bar, where it has atubular boss d. The lower partf of the finger extends straight back fromthe point to the vertical web 71, where it joins a hollow boss h, whichis provided with a horizontal recess or opening i. This opening isdesigned to receive the point of the guard where the finger is inposition, and in order to secure it in place it is only necessary toslip it over the guard and secure the tailpiece g to the finger-bar bypassing a bolt 6 through the boss at and the bar, as best shown in Fig.2. There may be any number of these fingers, and they may be attached tothe finger-bar at the points where the sickleclips are located or nearertogether, as desired. When attached at points where the clips come, itwill be found convenient to set the boss cl on one corner of the clip,as indicated atfin Fig. 1, thus utilizing the bolt e as the means offastening the finger, the clip, the wear-plate, and the guard.

It is well understood that the guards of mowers and reapers vary in sizeand shape, some conditions requiring the point of the guard to have arather full outline having a convex upper surface, as indicated by thedotted line .9 in Fig. 2, and others requiring a comparatively slenderpoint with a flat or concave upper surface, as denoted by the full lines5 in the same figure. In order to adapt the supplemental fingerfforattachment to any of these difierent sizes and shapes of guards, Iprovide for locking the point of the guard. in the recess of the fingerwithout regard to the fit of the guard in the recess. In the presentinstance this is efiected by means of a set-screwy, which is seated in atapped hole in the horizontal Web m near where it joins the vertical web1'', so that the screw depends vertically with its head standing acrossthe mouth of the opening t', as clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2,thereby, in efiect,adjusting the size of the openingby obstructing itmore or less, according to the adjustment of the screw. The opening ismade in practice large enough to accommodate guards of the largest size,and when the smaller sizes of guards are employed the only thingnecessary to insure the fit of thefinger is to adjustthe screw j so thatit will pro ject farther across the mouth of the opening. It may then belocked in position by means of the jamuiut k.

The construction and manner of using the improved finger being as thusdescribed,it is to be noted that not only does the set-screw j provide,in efiect, for adjusting the size of the opening which receives thepoint of the guard, but it also provides for actually looking the pointof the guard in the opening without regard to the fitthat is to say, nomatter how much smaller than the opening the point may be it can alwaysbe tightly secured in the opening, so as to hold the finger perfectlyrigid.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is p l. A supplemental stalk-lifting finger forattachment to the finger-bars of mowers, reapers, and the like, havingthe usual guards, said finger having a recess or opening to receive thepoint of the guard, and an adjustable set-screw projecting across themouthof said opening or recess so as to adapt the same to receive guardsof different sizes.

said finger having a boss 72 provided with a V recess or opening 11 toreceive the point of the guard, an adjustable set-screw j projectingacross the mouth of the opening or recess so as to contact with theguard and lock the same in the opening or recess,-and a nut 7c forlooking the screw against turning.

3. In a cutting apparatus for mowers, reapers, and the like, thecombination with the finger-bar and one.or more of the guards, of asupplemental stalk-lifting finger f, having the lower part j terminatingin a recess or opening i to receive the point of the guard, a set-screwjto secure the guard in the recess, a tailpiece g extending rearward overthe finger-bar and by means of which the finger may be secured to theupper side of the bar, and a guard or arched top piece extending fromthe point of the finger upward and rearward over the tailpiece.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presenceof two Witnesses.

WILLIAM WEBBER.

Witnesses:

CHAs. N. CHAMBERS, A. H. VAN EWYK.

